The Flood

As you may already know, last weekend brought one of the worst floods in the history of the Philippines. More rain fell in metro Manila and surrounding regions in nine hours on Saturday than the entire amount Hurricane Katrina dumped on New Orleans in 2005. In fact, the nine hours of rain exceeded Manila's usual rainfall in the entire month of September! In just NINE hours!

One of the worst hit areas in Manila was Cainta, where Kids International Ministries is located. Thankfully, no one at our organization was hurt or severely affected by the flood. We have been able to recover fairly quick and instead are focusing our time on helping those who were hit hard by the flooding. The Philippines is already one of the poorest countries in the world, making relief efforts even more difficult as hundreds of thousands of families have lost everything they own.



We at KIM have begun our relief efforts right in our community, which is called Cuatro Community (named for the golf course that borders it). Tuesday morning, over thirty people joined in at KIM to help those in need. A diverse group of people, foreign volunteers, some of our older kids from the home, the Long family, other local missionaries displaced from their homes, and several of our Filipino staff members all worked together with one goal: to help those who needed it most. To be the hands and the feet of Christ! What a beautiful picture it was, to see so many different people unified by a purpose: to feed the hungry.

We went out in groups, handing out 500 meal tickets to women and children around the community. Then we spent most of the morning preparing the food... cutting, peeling, and chopping vegetables, mixing, rolling, and baking meatballs, and cooking tons and tons of rice! Then between 12 noon and 1:30pm, we fed these people, gave vitamins out to all the kids, and along with the help of Marilyn, our nurse, offered medical help as well.



As with any major disaster, such as this, it will take time to rebuild. Hundreds of thousands of people need to rebuild their homes, cars have been completely filled with water and are not working, people's belongings have floated away and disappeared, trash and mud line the streets, and hundreds of people have lost their loved ones.

Please keep praying for the Philippines during this trying time! Pray for those who were severely affected by the floods and pray for opportunities for us to reach out and help our community! Also pray that the next 2 storms that are supposed to come in this weekend are SMALL and do not further damage people's homes.

To see pictures of the floods and our relief efforts, please check out the website!

1 John 3:17
But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

By land and by sea: The Road trip

It all started with a casual conversation with Jeff Long, the director of K.I.M. It went something like this; “Monday we’ve got a truckload of supplies headed down to Mindanao. It is a 3 day drive through beautiful countryside…”
“Really? 3 days through the Philippines?”
A nod.
“Is there any way I can get involved with that?”
Another nod.
“Alright, sign me up.”
58 hours, three major Islands, over 1,700 Kilometers, two ferry rides—all nonstop—altogether amount to the road trip of a lifetime.

Jun, Jesse and myself just spent 58 hours traveling from Manila to Malaybalay city. We transported a truckload of supplies from the YunJin Ministry center in Manila to the Children’s home in Malaybalay. We got off to a slow start Monday night, but once the alternator was fixed (it powers the lights) there was no looking back. We then spent the next three days venturing through beautiful countryside. Winding through village after village, jungle after jungle, I experienced the Philippines first hand. We only stopped a few times to eat in make shift restaurants, which were really people serving and selling food out of their homes. We would eat our “cinigan” or “adobo” with a plate of rice and a glass of coca-cola while we left the truck running. Besides that we did stop one morning to take a shower, or more like paid a woman to use her hose and bucket. However, amidst the mad-dash there were some enjoyable moments of pause. One night on our second ferry I stood on the top deck against the railing admiring a partly cloudy sky, bright stars, lightning in the distance and I remember thinking to myself “do you realize where you are?”—moments were all you can do is stand in awe (ps. 46:10).




58hrs later we arrived at 6am to Pal-ing, Malaybalay. The trip was one for the books.


(Continued series from Joe who spent the summer volunteering in Manila)

Isabella: Trip to the North of Luzon

I never intended to travel to the Northern Province of Isabella. I did not even know about Isabella. But when I met Pastor Rey at the YunJin Ministry Center in Manila, I could not turn down his invitation to see his Province. A plane ride later I found myself in the province of Isabella, the most rural place I had traveled to in the Philippines. I stayed with Pastor Rey in his home. During the four days I was there I traveled to four different churches speaking and sharing my testimony of how Christ came into my life. The four days in the rural farmlands can be summarized in one word: unforgettable. Here is a little bit from my experience....


I slept all night to the drizzle of rain on the sheet metal roof. The rain cooled the air down, making it fresh. I woke up early and had a quick breakfast. I drew water from the well for my shower and added boiled water to warm it up a bit. The service was not until 9am but left around 8am to be sure we had enough time to catch a ferry across the other river to Santa Maria, even though it is only 10 miles from the house to the church. The bridge we had crossed just 2 days earlier was no longer visible...the ferry was interesting. All 25 passengers loaded on, motor bikes and all into the 30ft motor boat. We chugged along about a foot above water. I learned firsthand why locals do not swim in the river during rainy season. I think the 5+ mile an hour current and slimy foam would make me second guess as well. The motor almost gave out a few times, which didn't seem to bother the man emptying out buckets of water that had leaked into the boat. We got to the bank, jumped out and jumped into the next mode of transportation--a trike. Rey, his family, myself, about three other people and the driver piled onto the scooter with re-bar side car then we arrived to the concrete chapel in Santa Maria 15 after 9. Worship was a mix of English and the local dialect. I shared what I had prepared; speaking as clearly as I possibly could. After the service we gathered behind the chapel at the Pastors make-shift living area and enjoyed lunch. We finished our lunch and then gathered back in the chapel to close for the day. The congregation of Living Springs Community Church demonstrated their appreciation for my visit when they asked to pray for me before I left. So, the pastor and his deacons gathered around me and we prayed. We embraced and said our farewells. Isabella how can I forget you!?

(Continued series from Joe who spent the summer volunteering in Manila)

The Boys: Daily Life in Manila

Meet the Boys. When I have not been spending time in the Provinces, or road trippin', I have been in Manila pulling 8-to-5's with the Boy's. I have become good friends with the construction workers in Manila. K.I.M. has done an excellent job in ministering to the needs of the local squatter community in many ways, and one has been to create jobs for some of the Filipino men in the area--the construction workers. Witnessing these 20+ men in action has been a privilege. They are skilled carpenters, electricians, and masons. Their work ethic is incredible. Every morning they arrive at 8am and leave at 5pm. They work Monday through Saturday. I have not seen one guy miss a day, and they all seemingly enjoy what they do.

Being able to work side-by-side with this group of guys has been an honor to me, and much fun. The day never goes without a joke and a laugh. We come together with humor. We usually admonish each other sarcastically yelling "Malupiton!" (This can mean champion or a kid who needs to be disciplined). We also pass time by singing. It starts with one guy softly singing a Beatles song or Michael Jackson then it builds into three to four guys belting out the chorus.

We laugh together, we work together, and we take time to read together. Beginning in the middle of July we began to have bible study everyday for a half an hour after lunch. Around 1pm we gather around, they read the selected verses in Tagalog and I use Tag-lish. After each trip upon my return they have always asked me, "Joe. Bible study today?" These are my boys.



(Continued series from Joe who spent the summer volunteering in Manila)

My Summer with K.I.M.

Hello, my name is Joe. I am a 22yr old college student in Southern California. I came to the Philippines to serve Kids International Ministries for a few weeks; little did I know I would get more than I bargained for. I just had an unforgettable summer in the Philippines. Originally I did not plan on spending my entire summer with K.I.M. but luckily I did. I arrived in Manila on the 22nd of June with my fellow teammates from my local church. We planned to spend 3 weeks working with K.I.M., but after 10 days of being impacted by Manila I realized 3 weeks was not enough. So, I decided to stay with K.I.M. for the rest of my summer vacation. The next two months (July-August) gave me memories and experiences I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I split my time between the Children’s Home in Manila and Malaybalay City. I spent a week in the northern province of Isabella. And I took a 58hr truck ride from the northern most island of the Philippines to the furthest island south. In the next week I will be sharing some highlights from my experience in my own words. Keep checking back for those posts!